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The effects of demineralisation and sampling point variability on the measurement of glutamine deamidation in type I collagen extracted from bone
Simpson, J.P. Penkman, K.E.H. Demarchi, B. Koon, Hannah E.C. Collins, M.J. Thomas-Oates, J. Shapiro, B. Mark, M. Wilson, J.
Simpson, J.P.
Penkman, K.E.H.
Demarchi, B.
Koon, Hannah E.C.
Collins, M.J.
Thomas-Oates, J.
Shapiro, B.
Mark, M.
Wilson, J.
Publication Date
2016-05
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© 2016 Elsevier. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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openAccess
Accepted for publication
2016-02-09
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Abstract
The level of glutamine (Gln) deamidation in bone collagen provides information on the diagenetic history
of bone but, in order to accurately assess the extent of Gln deamidation, it is important to minimise the
conditions that may induce deamidation during the sample preparation. Here we report the results of a
preliminary investigation of the variability in glutamine deamidation levels in an archaeological bone
due to: a) sampling location within a bone; b) localised diagenesis; and c) sample preparation methods.
We then investigate the effects of pre-treatment on three bone samples: one modern, one Medieval and
one Pleistocene. The treatment of bone with acidic solutions was found to both induce deamidation and
break down the collagen fibril structure. This is particularly evident in the Pleistocene material (~80,000
years BP) considered in this study. We show that ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), when used as
an alternative to hydrochloric acid (HCl) demineralisation, induces minimal levels of deamidation and
maintains the collagen fibril structure. Areas of bone exhibiting localised degradation are shown to be
correlated with an increase in the levels of Gln deamidation. This indicates that the extent of Gln deamidation
could provide a marker for diagenesis but that sampling is important, and that, whenever
possible, subsamples should be taken from areas of the bone that are visually representative of the bone
as a whole. Although validation of our observations will require analysis of a larger sample set, deamidation
measurements could be a valuable screening tool to evaluate the suitability of bone for further
destructive collagen analyses such as isotopic or DNA analysis, as well as assessing the overall preservation
of bone material at a site. The measure of bone preservation may be useful to help conservators
identify bones that may require special long-term storage conditions.
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Accepted manuscript
Citation
Simpson JP, Penkman KEH, Demarchi B et al (2016) The effects of demineralisation and sampling point variability on the measurement of glutamine deamidation in type I collagen extracted from bone. Journal of Archaeological Science. 69: 29-38.
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